


Through Layers of Cotton

by therapychicken



Series: Going Viral! [1]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: 2020 era, COVID-19, Coronavirus, David calling Patrick "honey" gives me life force, Domestic Fluff, Drabble, Fluff, M/M, Married Couple, Married Life, Masks, No Angst, Post-Canon, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, all the kinds of fluff, because it's its own era at this point, hello future schitt's creek fans who can look back at this era with traumatized nostalgia, schmoopy feelings, the premise might be COVID but the fic is just cuteness, wear masks everybody!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:34:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25487830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therapychicken/pseuds/therapychicken
Summary: "Patrick's mouth is wide open, too, because it's just so weird. The whole bottom half of David's face, David's beautiful, expressive face, is covered by his mask."
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Series: Going Viral! [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1851727
Comments: 10
Kudos: 152





	Through Layers of Cotton

**Author's Note:**

> Never wrote two fics in two days before! This just burrowed into my mind and would not get out- easily the goopiest, mushiest bit of fluffy drabble I have ever written in my life, and I do not apologize for it. 
> 
> You know what to do- leave me a comment telling me what you think, and more importantly, wear a mask and save lives!

Patrick is standing at the counter, trying to ignore the weird sensation of his own breath condensing against his skin under his mask, when the bell rings at the door and David walks in. He's walking in backward, pulling in a granny cart of organic eggs he'd picked up from a vendor, and Patrick is admiring David's long lines and his ass in those jeans as David huffs and puffs the cart in. Once he's successful, David straightens up the cart with a sigh and turns around to Patrick. "Well, that was a-" and David's eyes widen and he stops, silent. 

Patrick's mouth is wide open, too, because it's just so _weird._ The whole bottom half of David's face, David's beautiful, expressive face, is covered by his mask. It's a mask that was custom made for him by one of their vendors as part of a new line they're selling- it's black, with bold white letters saying SHUSH, and it's kind of perfect in the abstract- but now it's on David's face and Patrick can't really deal with this. David's mouth had been moving and Patrick hadn't been able to see them as David talked. David's mole that Patrick likes to touch is hidden from Patrick's sight, and nobody can tell that David has the most beautiful and immaculate stubble on the planet. His kissable lips are completely gone from view, and Patrick knows that giving them a casual peck through two layers of cotton will not be the same. Infuriating. 

"This is insane," David breathes, or at least, apparently breathes, because it sounds like his voice but there is no actual way of knowing that it came from his mouth. "I can't see your face, Patrick!" 

"I know, I know." David's mouth is probably open in outrage at this turn of events, but all Patrick can see of it is a slight lengthening of his jawline under the mask. 

"I just- I didn't know it would be like this," David says frustratedly. "I was all excited to reopen after lockdown but this is _ridiculous_ and, I'm starting to think, not worth it." 

" _David._ "

"Patrick! We're doing fine with online sales! Who cares if Roland is able to come in to buy his foot cream in person!"

Honestly, it's a good point well made, though Patrick is kind of happy about the idea of Roland coming in to the store and Patrick not having to see whatever happens to be stuck in his teeth that day. But- "we are a store that takes pride in our ambiance and visual appeal, things that are entirely _your_ doing, babe, and it's important that we maintain that element of our business model." Patrick is starting to feel, he has to admit, like he's convincing himself as much as he's convincing David. 

David groans (apparently). "Ugh, fine," he says, rolling his eyes (at least they're still expressive) and turning to start putting the eggs on the refrigerator shelf where they belong. 

And Patrick is watching him, and while normally he'd be looking at David's ass again as he bends down to pick up the eggs out of the cart, now he's looking at David's eyes. Because they are expressive. David had once told him reverently of the time that Tyra Banks herself had taught him how to smize, but Patrick thinks that even without that kind of studied, purposeful attempt, David's eyes would be an open book. The deep rich brown like dark chocolate that twinkles when David is purely happy, something that Patrick has gotten used to recently. The little crinkles that David refuses to call "crow's feet" that make it so clear when David is smiling and laughing. The way David's eyes close, tearing up a bit at the edges, eyelashes fluttering, as he experiences an emotion that he's not ready to handle. 

That's just his eyes, mind, not even his eyebrows; if David's eyes are an open book, his eyebrows are a whole second volume. 

Suddenly Patrick realizes that David is looking at _him_ , face tilting and eyes focusing in his direction, and quickly returns his gaze to the vendor spreadsheet open on his laptop, flushing invisibly and counting to five before looking back at David, who is bent down over the table again, the back of his neck red, and Patrick is pretty sure he's smiling. Patrick is smiling too. It has been years since they've stolen glances at each other from across the store as they work, hoping the other one wouldn't notice. It's kind of exhilarating to be doing it again. 

Then David's looking at Patrick _again_ , and Patrick's eyes go hurriedly back to his computer screen again, and David's probably turned back himself by now, thinking fondly of the blush on Patrick's ears. But after another count to five, when Patrick looks up back at David again, David is still looking at Patrick, unblinkingly, his eyes calm and happy.

His eyes suddenly crinkle as he sees Patrick looking back, and he says, in the softest voice that Patrick strains to hear without David's lips to follow, "you have beautiful eyes, honey."

Now Patrick has this choking lump inside his chest and his eyes are closed as he blinks unexpected tears out of their corners. He smiles to David in the way that he sometimes does when he's overwhelmed but doesn't want David to realize, and then remembers that David can't tell.

He turns and walks, as casually as he can, into the stockroom, and after clearing his throat a couple of times, calls out, "David, can you come back here and help me with this?"

A moment later, David is coming in through the curtain and Patrick can see the confusion in his eyes, and there's nothing Patrick can do anymore but pull off his mask with one hand and grab at David's with the other and finally press their lips together. They did this only an hour ago at home, it shouldn't feel as fucking _revelatory_ as it does, but Patrick can feel the smoothness and fullness of David's lips against Patrick's slightly chapped ones, the rough edges of David's stubble on Patrick's peach fuzz, David's mole as Patrick cups his hand over David's cheek, his wedding ring catching as it passes over it. 

It's either a few seconds or a few millennia later that Patrick pulls away, breathing deeply, looking at the blush on David's cheeks and the reddening of his lips, feeling the beginnings of stubble burn on his own face. David's eyes are happy and crinkled and understanding, but that barely matters because David's mouth is smiling, he's beaming, none of that adorable side-crookedness but a full blown elated grin that makes Patrick's heart grow three sizes. Patrick can feel his own smile responding, and it's possible that they stand there smiling longer than they were standing there kissing, it's hard to tell. 

Patrick reaches forward and pulls at David's mask dangling from one ear, puts it back on over David's smile and looks at it knowing that that smile is still there underneath. He puts his own mask back on and knows that David knows the same thing.

He reaches himself forward and pecks David on the smiling lips through two layers of cotton. It's not the same, but it's pretty damn great. 


End file.
